Swimming to Host Gardner-Webb, VMI on Saturday

Rachel Walten and the Lady Flames will host CCSA opponents Gardner-Webb and VMI for a tri meet on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The Liberty Lady Flames will host their second and final home swim meet of the year, Saturday afternoon, welcoming Gardner-Webb and VMI for a tri meet at the LaHaye Aquatics Center at 12:30 p.m.

Liberty (2-1) dropped its first home meet of the year to Campbell, 111-94, on Oct. 2. The following weekend, the Lady Flames made history, winning the program's first-ever dual meets by defeating conference opponents Radford and North Carolina A&T, at Radford.

The Lady Flames are led by Brye Ravettine, who has recorded Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) top-eight times in three different events this season. She currently holds the fourth-best time in the 50y freestyle (24.47) and the 100y freestyle (53.35) and ranks No. 6 in the 100 fly (59.49). Ravettine has won every event she's entered this season.

Liberty Head Coach Jake Shellenberger will also look to freshman Lindsey Romkes to score some points on Saturday, as she currently holds the seventh-fastest time in the 200y freestyle in the CCSA (1:55.87).

Relays will also be important to the Liberty cause, as the B relay team (Romkes, Ravettine, Dani Fletcher, Sarah McCorkle) is third in the CCSA in the 200y freestyle relay, clocking a time of 1:40.44 at the dual meet against Campbell.

Saturday's meet will be Liberty's final tune-up before the 2010 Radford Invite, which follows the same format as the CCSA Championship. That event is scheduled for Nov. 18 – 20 at Radford, and will include preliminary and finals rounds.

The Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb clinched a third-place finish in the CCSA last season. They dropped their season-opener to UNC Wilmington, 191-71, at home on Oct. 23. Despite the loss, several swimmers clocked some of the top CCSA times. Kimberly Zachensky holds the fifth-fastest times in the 100y breaststroke (1:07.49) and the 200y breaststroke (2:25.80), while Kathryn Bryant is ranked No. 6 in the 100 backstroke (1:00.01) and No. 9 in the 200y IM (2:13.18). Faith Kempf is sixth in the 400y IM with a time of 4:42.96.

The Bulldog team of Sarah Steadman, Jenna Voelkert, Lizzy Ketterer and Liz VanHalsema is sixth in the CCSA in the 400y freestyle relay with a time of 3:38.61.

The VMI Keydets ended the 2009-10 season with an 11th-place finish in the CCSA, but started the 2010-11 campaign going 0-6 in a meet at Mount St. Mary's last weekend. The Keydets did see podium finishes from their freshmen, as Mia Cunicelli, Meghan Doss and Flora Edelbrock all finished in the top three in their respective events.

Saturday's meet will also include men's events, as the men's swimming teams from Gardner-Webb and VMI will be in attendance.

All spectators are asked to enter through the Thomas Indoor Soccer Center entrance. From there, fans will be given wristbands before being directed to the pool area.

Helpful Hints • No flash photography is permitted at the start of each race. • Fans are asked to remain quiet at the start of each race. • Only two relay teams from each squad may score. • Individual Medley Order: Fly, Back, Breast, Free • Medley Relay Order: Back, Breast, Fly, Free